The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
Cloud computing and storage solutions enable users to store and process their data in third-party data centers, which allows easy access and sharing of resources, data, and information among computers and other mobile devices. Generally, Authentication as a service (AaaS) and Encryption as a service (EaaS) are used to provide cloud-based storage of user credentials and access information to facilitate system authentication from a single repository as well as the encryption of data. However, the cloud based authentication and encryption services are volatile to the theft of root keys stored in the cloud-based storage. For example, if the cloud-based storage of service providers is compromised, then individual user's data and passwords can also be compromised.
Many technologies have been developed to provide safer encryption and authentication services in accessing host computer's application or database. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,522,018 to Molina discloses a portable or mobile Trusted Platform Module (TPM) based on the specification from the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) that is used to authenticate and help to maintain the security of a system and to provide a computer system with encryption capabilities. However, Molina's system is limited to authentication and encryption in a mobile or virtual environment, and cannot be used as a portable encryption and authentication agent.
Others have sought to solve the problem by providing a portable device that contains security information. For example, US Patent Application Number 2011/0246778 to Duane discloses a USB “Key” that contains information to generate a checksum to validate a virtual machine (VM) host image. When utilizing the VM image, the host system validates the image using the USB “Key”. Thus, if the USB drive were missing or if the validation failed, the host system would refuse to load the VM image. For another example, US Patent Application Number 2015/0074764 to Stern discloses a system that allows a portable device running VM to request an authorized access of the VM to the portable devices hardware or other resources via an authenticating server. For example, if a VM running on a mobile phone attempts to access the camera, the VM creates a secure connection to the server by exchanging a key and asks permission. However, these systems does not use VM and secure communications in order to provide encryption and authentication services.
All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
Thus, there is still a need for a portable system and method to provide encryption and authentication services in a remote or guest environment using the users' credentials.